"You look at all the great players that have come out of
this state," Franklin. "You think of all the great players that have played
at Penn State from here. I think it's very important. That's obviously why
we're investing all the resources in recruiting and committing to it."

Franklin made visits to Whippany and New York City on
Thursday as part of Penn State's 17-stop Coaches Caravan. The tour, which is similar to the one Rutgers' coaches are making to promote their entry to the Big Ten,
serves as a glorified pep rally at different spots around the region.

Franklin has found a particularly receptive audience from
the rabid Penn State fan base buzzing over a 2015 recruiting class
currently ranked second in the nation behind Alabama.

Franklin has bolstered that class by landing three of the
top five prospects from New Jersey, according to Rivals.com rankings. Wide
receiver Juwan Johnson (Glassboro), offensive lineman Steven Gonzalez (Union
City) and quarterback Brandon Wimbush (Jersey City) have all bought into
Franklin's vision.

"I'm going to come into your living room and I'm going to
sell you on something and it's going to be hard for you to argue with what
we're selling," Franklin said. "I believe that strongly."

Franklin's recruiting pitch isn't much different than most
coaches – he vows to develop players on and off the field, he emphasizes the
tradition at Penn State and he pitches the prospect of playing in front of 107,000 fans at
Beaver Stadium.

Where Franklin's pitch deviates somewhat is his ability to
offer players the opportunity for immediate playing time. Penn State is still
dealing with NCAA sanctions from the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal,
including a bowl ban and a scholarship reduction, that are scheduled to last two
more years.

"I am the ultimate optimist," Franklin said. "I look at the
sanctions going forward as a positive in recruiting. Everybody else has 85
scholarships. We have 75. So if you want early playing time and you want to get
on the field and you want to make an impact, there's nobody in the country that
can offer that."

The Sandusky scandal still lingers over the program, but it
hasn't been a detriment in recruiting.

"There's things that we still have to answer and there's
still discussions that we have," Franklin said. "But we're just open and we're
honest and transparent about it, and then we move on. But everybody asks.
Everybody asks about the sanctions, everybody asks about what's going on. It's
a little bit different because it really has nothing to do with us as a
coaching staff and it really has nothing to do with our players and really the
program as a whole. We answer the questions and we kind of move forward."

Franklin acknowledges there are some on-field challenges facing
the team this season. There is a lack of depth and the highly touted recruits
are a year from stepping on campus.

Franklin has struggled to find a balance between hyping his program and the possibility of the results on the field this season not measuring up.

“That’s the hardest thing to do," Franklin said. "How do you get people excited and enthusiastic and jumping on board without setting up false expectations? That’s one of the more difficult things that I haven’t completely figured out how to do yet."

Franklin, who led Vanderbilt to a 24-15 record in three
years, says wins and losses this season will have no impact on his ability to
recruit.

"Not at all. I think recruiting is about people believing in your vision
and believing in your plan," Franklin said. "I think recruiting is about
opportunity. And I think for us, this isn't the first time we're doing it. It's
one thing if you're a first-time head coach. But people saw what we were able
to do the last three years and I think that's created credibility for us. It's
not like we're just selling a dream and a plan and we have no evidence to show.
We've got pretty good evidence."

"That's more of an approach than anything," Franklin said. "People
want to take it as disrespect. It's not disrespect. I have tremendous respect
for Pitt. I have tremendous respect for Rutgers and Maryland and all those
schools. (Rutgers) Coach (Kyle) Flood – unbelievable respect for those guys.
Our approach is that we have to do a great job in this part of the country.
We're going to go nationally as well, but if we can keep the majority of the best
players in this region home, we're going to have a chance to be successful."